ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from the landmark social media addiction trial to more Netflix price hikes

Date:
Sat, 28 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Description:
The week's biggest tech news stories from Sonos, DJI, iOS, and more for March 28, 2026.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member
features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter
This week, we saw major decisions that could rock the tech world, as social media was called addictive in a landmark trial, and the US banned foreign Wi-Fi routers.

To catch up on this, as well as the latest reviews and other essential tech news stories, scroll down for our full ICYMI recap of the week. When youre done here, be sure also to read our experts picks for the seven new movies
and TV shows to watch this weekend . Article continues below You may like ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories for March 14, 2026 ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories for March 21, 2026 ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories from Discord's mass exodus to Apple's big March event
teaser 1. Social media declared addictive (Image credit: Shutterstock) On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury found that Meta and Google are liable for designing products that are deliberately addictive, a case that could change social media forever. The plaintiff, a woman known only as KGM, testified
that "she became addicted to YouTube at age six and Instagram at nine", leading to body image issues and self-harm.

KGM's lawyers, in their closing remarks, said: How do you make a child never put down the phone? Thats called the engineering of addiction." We pinpointed three persuasive tricks social media companies use to keep users glued to their screens, and exactly how the infinite-scroll loop hijacks children's still-developing brains all according to the latest scientific research.
Read the full story: 'The 'engineering of addiction' explained 2. We heard
the Sonos Play in all of its glory (Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)
Weve spent a few weeks testing the Sonos Play speaker, and its a real return to form for Sonos. Not because its the best-sounding speaker in the world (though its really impressive for something that size) or because it has
every feature imaginable (though it offers more options than basically anything else in its price range) but because it gets back to what Sonos was known for: speakers so convenient that youll listen to more music than ever.

Its a battery-powered portable speaker thats compact and light enough to grab and take around with you, but thats also powerful and high-quality enough to use as your main home wireless speaker in a room. That means its always grabbable at a moment's notice, so we found ourselves using it more often, in more places, than with other portable speakers. Get daily insight,
inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The great, durable design with a charging cradle is what helps cement this as maybe the ideal do-anything wireless speaker for the home, though its not cheap. Read the full story: I spent 3 weeks testing the Sonos Play, and I
love it 3. We flew the DJI 360 drone (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen) Weve tested the DJI Avata 360, and our verdict is in: its the 360 drone to beat. Its more agile and versatile than the previous frontrunner, the Antigravity A1, and boasts excellent 10-bit image quality did we mention its more affordable too?

Yes, other DJI drones offer better pure image quality, and 360 footage requires post-production editing. Still, as an all-rounder that's both a capable 360 camera and a thrilling FPV flyer, the Avata 360 delivers brilliantly. What to read next ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories for January 31, 2026 ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories for February 14, 2026. ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from ChatGPT to OLED TVs Read the full review: I had an absolute blast flying the DJI Avata 360 4. US banned non-American routers (Image credit: FactoryTh / Getty
Images) In this weeks rendition of what weird tech law the Trump administration will dump on us, it just banned new non-US-made Wi-Fi routers meaning theyll be banned unless theyre made in the States.

According to the FCC, routers manufactured outside the US represent both a "supply chain vulnerability" and a "severe cybersecurity risk". Essentially, they fear these foreign routers could be used to spy on US citizens.

While this isnt the most illogical move, the big trouble is that finding American-made routers isnt easy, and all of the best weve tested are made outside the country meaning a new router you upgrade to could in fact be a downgrade. Read the full story: The US just banned new routers that aren't made in America 5. OpenAI killed Sora (Image credit: Getty Images/Bloomberg) Sora, we barely knew ya. Just six months after launching what might be the worlds first social AI app and just 18 months after launching the Sora generative video model into the world, OpenAI pulled the plug.

Sora, as a platform and app, seems to be no more.

OpenAI announced the news in a social post and has since offered little explanation. We have some guesses, like the skyrocketing costs of supporting all that video generation, the shrinking interest in the app, or maybe
OpenAIs preparation for going public. Its something they might need to do since Disney also just pulled out of a $1B deal with the AI company. Read the full story: Is this the start of a mini AI bubble collapse? 6. iOS 26.4 sparked a controversy (Image credit: Future) iOS updates usually deliver fun new treats for iPhone fans, but this week, iOS 26.4 came with a less welcome gift age verification checks for UK users.

When you install the update, you have to prove youre over 18, and thats
caused problems for many who dont have a driving license or a credit card to scan. The buggy process and concerns around the security of age verification checks have also doused this already hot topic with extra gasoline.

If youre having iOS 26.4 issues, weve outlined some potential fixes in our guide below. This controversy is likely only just getting started, but maybe WWDC 2026 (also announced this week for June 8) will help give us some answers. Read the full story: iOS 26.4 age verification is proving a disaster for some users 7. Netflix hiked prices (Image credit: Netflix) Its that time of year again! Were not talking about the changing of the seasons, no, of course, its Netflix hiking prices. Yippee

The world's biggest streaming service has quietly announced that the Standard with ads tier is going up by $1 to $8.99, while both ad-free tiers, Standard and Premium, are going up by $2 to $19.99 and $26.99, respectively.

Whats more, Netflixs extra member fee will rise from $7.99 to $9.99 yikes!

Its not clear if this change will launch outside the US anytime soon, but you can always count on three things in life: death, taxes, and Netflix price hikes. Read more: The cost of Netflix has just gone up in the US again



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/tech/icymi-the-weeks-7-biggest-tech-stories-from-the -landmark-social-media-addiction-trial-to-more-netflix-price-hikes


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)